Ice fishing involves cutting a hole in an ice layer covering a body of water, and deploying a fishing line through that hole. The sport of ice fishing has long enjoyed great popularity. This popularity has even increased in recent years so that there are now great numbers of ice fisherman.
Ice fishing is often carried out in low, or no, light situations, such as at night, or the like. Furthermore, a single ice fisherman may have several lines working at the same time, and all must be monitored. While this is an efficient manner of ice fishing, it creates problems in monitoring all of the lines, especially if the lines are widely spaced and the ambient light is low.
While there are several known devices for signalling a strike, these devices are prone to providing false signals, especially if such devices are exposed to the environment, which can be quite harsh. This is particularly true of the mechanical devices, such as spring-loaded flags and the like. These devices may also not be fully effective for night ice fishing, especially if the lines are widely spaced apart.
Still further, many ice fishing holes tend to freeze over and must be constantly monitored for this reason as well. This creates still further activity and problems for the fisherman. While the art contains examples of ice shanties and the like which can cover an ice fishing hole, such devices are not amenable for efficient use in conjunction with a multitude of ice holes that are widely spaced apart and are being simultaneously worked. Furthermore, such devices may be cumbersome to store, transport and set up.
Therefore, there is a need for an ice fishing assembly that can maintain an ice fishing hole open and can also signal a strike in a reliable manner, even in a harsh environmental situation, that is readily identifiable, even in extremely low light conditions, yet which can be easily stored, transported and set up in the configuration that is most effective for the particular conditions encountered.